Q&A: 49ers cornerback Nate Clements

I’m a pretty huge San Francisco 49ers fan — we’ve had season tickets in our family for three generations. Of all the free agents the team has picked up in recent years, I think I got the most excited about defensive back Nate Clements. Next to the quarterback and maybe left tackle, I can’t think of a more important player on a football team than a cornerback.

… off the field.

On the field …

So what does this have to do with parenting? In a random sideline interview a few games ago, Clements started gushing about his two children, 7-year-old Brooklynn and 4-month-old Ace, and mentioned that he met wife Melissa when they were 5 years old. When I contacted the 49ers for an unrelated story, they offered to let me ask Clements some parenting-related questions.

He was very cool about it, and our conversation ranged from baby names to parenting advice to a surprisingly detailed conversation about the Olive Garden.

Clements, 28, lives in the Silver Creek neighborhood of San Jose, and you can read more about him on his Web site, lockdown22.com. And incidentally, he followed our Thursday interview with an interception in Sunday’s game against the Patriots. Coincidence?

The Poop: I understand you’ve known your wife for a long time. Was it love at first sight?

Nate Clements: I don’t know about love at first sight. I was too young to know about that. But we knew each other since kindergarten. She was the first person I ever kissed and I was the first person she kissed. So we know each other pretty well.

TP: You’re the lockdown corner. Who’s the lockdown parent? You or Melissa?

NC: We both are, but right now during the season, she’s the lockdown parent, I would have to say. With me working and practicing and coming home studying — there’s a lot of studying — she’s holding down the fort.

Nate Clements

Clements and wife Melissa.

TP: Your 4-month-old is named Ace?

NC: Ace Camden Clements.

TP: Is there a story behind that?

NC: I didn’t really get it from anywhere — it just came to my head. I was thinking of a one-syllable name. For example, you look at Champ and Boss Bailey, the brothers. They’ve got unique names, and it rolls off people’s tongues. Ace will be something that people remember.

TP: You’re from Ohio State, right?

NC: The Ohio State

TP: What would be a worse conversation, if Ace grows up and tells you he wants to go to Michigan, or if he decides to become a kicker?

NC: I knew what you were about to ask. I knew that was coming. … The answer is Michigan. He’s not going to Michigan.

TP: In the 49ers locker room, who gives the best parenting advice?

NC: Probably I would say it’s not so much a player, but Johnnie Lynn, my position coach. I think his kids are around my age. When we’re in meetings, we don’t always talk about Xs and Os. We’ll talk about family. And he’s been there and done that. Most of his kids are grown now, so he can tell me about all the different phases. He knows what’s coming next.

Lockdown22.com

Clements meets a fan before the game.

TP: Your daughter Brooklynn is in grade school. Are you the coolest parent on career day?

NC: I don’t want to brag, but I think I might be a popular parent. I’ve gone on field trips with her. We went to the zoo, and on a walkathon to raise money. I think the kids recognize me. She might get some popularity points for that.

TP: Where do you hang out with your kids — especially Brooklynn, since you can do more stuff with her?

NC: I’m an outdoors person, and she’s a girly girl. So I try to get her outdoors. She really likes riding her bike now, and jumping rope. Nowadays with video games and television, kids stay inside all the time. When I was growing up, they had to call me in. So I just try to get her outside. Finish her homework and get her outside.

TP: Do you get out to a lot of local restaurants — with your family or with the kids?

NC: We go to the city to eat sometimes after a game, depending on whether it’s a night game or day game. On my off day I always take Brooklynn to school, and if she’s doing good in school, she likes to go to Burger King and get the French toast. The only thing she gets in trouble for is talking, so I check up to see if she was talking too much in class.

TP: Burger King for French toast? Her dad’s Nate Clements. She should be asking for Red Lobster or something.

TP: Excellent choice … Football player is a pretty transient job. Would you like to stay in the Bay Area and raise your kids here?

NC: Definitely. Compared to Cleveland and Buffalo, it’s a totally different element. I love it out here and my family loves it here. My daughter loves her school and loves her classmates. We won’t be going anywhere any time soon.